Rutgers once again falls short of upset bid, falling to No. 15 Cincinnati, 70-66

The regular-season officially over, the first thing Eddie Jordan asked his team to do in its locker room after losing to No. 15 Cincinnati was stand and applaud its two seniors. So Rutgers stood and clapped for Wally Judge and J.J. Moore, who the Scarlet Knights head coach felt had embodied what the real postgame message was. Then Jordan began to dovetail into what he wanted his team to take away from this latest loss.

That for the second time in four days, Rutgers had pushed a ranked team to the brink. That there was no quit. That, even though the result wasn't what they had hoped, the process was on point.

Afterward, Jordan wasted no time and didn't mince words in trying to sum up his first season in Piscataway.

"I hope they (fans) understand that the process is successful so far," Jordan said. "It doesn't matter what the record is. We learned how to compete with integrity. We've learned how to compete with composure. We're coming together as a team. Our kids are doing terrific off the floor and the process is successful. Is it a step ahead? Is it a step behind? I think we're right on target.

"Obviously we'd like to have won a few more games and maybe had a few upsets, but I've never given up on our players through the tough times. And I don't think they've given up on me."

It could've been easy for Jordan to chalk up Saturday's 70-66 loss to the Bearcats on Senior Day as one more example of his team coming up short. He knows that learning to win close games against good teams doesn't come easily — especially for a short roster under a first-year head coach.

But Jordan’s brutally honest postgame press conference provided a glimpse into where he feels the Scarlet Knights (11-20, 5-13 AAC) are heading into the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Wednesday in Memphis. And Rutgers feels that even though Cincinnati (25-6, 15-3 AAC) was another loss, the team is trending in the right direction at the right time.

"We fought all season," said J.J. Moore, who led Rutgers with 19 points. "We had some bad games — losing by 30, losing by 40 — and we've had some good games against some good teams. Losing by two to a good team. I feel like we've come a long way. Now that the conference tournament is here, we're going to go out and compete there."

There are blemishes, yes.

After being down by as many as 10 points in the second half, Rutgers took the lead with just over three minutes to play and held it until the 1:43 left in the game. It stayed within a possession, until Bearcats standout guard Sean Kilpatrick — who led all scorers with 24 points — blew past Rutgers' Jerome Seagears and went unimpeded to the hoop for the game-clinching basket with 16 seconds left.

There were stretches, much like Wednesday's six-point loss at No. 19 Connecticut, where the Scarlet Knights' offense was held scoreless.

"You've got to give some credit to Cincinnati, also," said Rutgers forward Kadeem Jack, who had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. "I think they're a top-10 team in the country. They know how to (close out). Guys like Kilpatrick, they know how to finish it out. He got the ball in his hands and made a couple of key plays down the line."

The other message Jordan had for his team after the game: Prepare for Wednesday. Rutgers will play last-place South Florida in the opening round of the tournament and its head coach hopes his declaration that the process is working — as evidenced by the last two games — will prevent any letdown, as the Scarlet Knights try to keep their season alive.

Because he can sense that right now, even with the losses, it's getting good.

"It's hard not having a winning season," Jordan said. "It takes a lot out of your emotional state. You're antsy to win, you're disappointed about losing. But our kids come to practice every day. We've got other things to accomplish. We're going to Memphis on Tuesday ... and we're looking to compete even better."